Joraanstad Team is Tops in National Women’s Curling

    Nicole Joraanstad, daughter of Central residents Gary and Debra Joraanstad, played third on the team that won the U.S. Women’s Curling Nationals this past weekend.  This is Nicole’s ninth nationals including two junior nationals.  As U.S. champions, the team will compete in Lethbridge, Alberta for the World Women’s Curling Championship March 17-25.  Nicole also played in the 2010 Winter Olympics and World Championships in 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2001 (juniors) and 2000 (juniors). 

    Nicole comes by her love of the sport naturally.  Gary, who curled in high school, went on to win the National Championship in Lake Placid in 1987, and then placed 5th in the World Championship.  Gary and Debra used to play on a competitive co-ed team in Seattle, Washington, which is how Nicole and her sister Andrea, now a Baton Rouge resident, got involved.  Both played for Junior Curling teams, but Nicole decided to pursue it after high school.  She attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and curled while a student and holding down a full time job.  That sort of focus and dedication has brought her to where she is today. 

    Curling is believed to have begun in Scotland in the 1600’s, played on frozen marshes.  4 team members compete: the skip, who determines the quality of the ice and thus the required weight, turn and line of the stone; the thrower, who “throws the rock”, and the two sweepers; who use “brooms” to sweep the ice in front of the thrown stone, often adding up to fifteen feet to the length it can travel.  The stone, or “rock”, is made of granite and weighs up to 42 pounds.  Nicole “throws rocks” daily to keep in competitive shape for curling.  The thrower slides the stone (called “delivering”) across the ice, the sweepers sweep the ice quickly in front of the stone, with the goal of delivering it accurately into the 3 ringed “house” or target.  Ten “ends”, or segments where each team takes turns throwing 2 stones each, make up a game.  Scoring is based on who has placed stones most closely to the center of the “house.”  Much strategy and skill is involved in curling, thus giving it the nickname “Chess On Ice.”

    According to team skip Allison Pottinger, Nicole’s contributions were especially critical in the Championship win as she executed a double-takeout in the seventh end that allowed Pottinger to draw for a second point.  Nicole cleared the house in the 9th end, limiting the competition to two points and preserving the lead.  Her well placed “freeze” (“A precise draw weight shot where a delivered stone comes to rest against a stationary stone, making it nearly impossible to knock out”-Dictionary of Curling Terms) in the final end provided enough protection to ensure the win.  As U.S. Champions, they have qualified for the 2014 Olympic Trials that will be held in Fargo, N.D. November 2013.  Congratulations to proud parents Gary and Debra, and best of luck Nicole!